


The Road Less Travelled

by Madame_Kiksters



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 00:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17497961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madame_Kiksters/pseuds/Madame_Kiksters
Summary: "As expected, he found his grandmother’s face awaiting him. Her smile was gentle if a little sad.Her mouth moved silently, but the way she spoke was so emphatic it was almost like he could hear her voice.‘I’m glad I met you, Takashi.’"Secret Santa gift fic for lady-parthenopia! (Sorry it's so extremely late!!!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whoa! This became a monster of a fic! (When you wanted to make something special for someone bc they were getting their gift late, but you made your gift super late v.v ).
> 
> I hope you like it! You gave me these prompts:  
> 1\. Found family, just Natsume being happy with the Fujiwara couple.  
> 2\. Natsume and his grandmother in kimono/yukata  
> 3\. Natsume interacting with his human/ayakashi friends
> 
> And I tried my damnedest to give you a little bit of each. Full disclaimer, I couldn't squeeze in an instance with Natsume and his grandma wearing a kimono/yukata and I apologize for that v.v
> 
> Enjoy!

Natsume wasn’t quite sure how to describe the youkai in front of him. Its constantly morphing face with eyes veiled by a mask connected to a nearly transparent body, even to Natsume’s trained eyes… existing, but only just barely.

**“M̶͜͡y̧͢҉ ͜͝n͢a̴͟͝͠m͡҉̛e̷.̶̡ ̷͘͢͟R͠͞͠ȩ̴̨͞t̴̢͘҉͟u̸̷̢͝r̵̛̛͘͝n̸͝͞ ̵͏̴i̴͟͡͠t͏̨̧͘.̷̷̢̛  ”**

Natsume’s tilted his head in confusion, barely able to make out the youkai’s request.

There was a puff of cool air on his cheek when Nyanko sighed from his shoulder.  “You know, I don’t even know _how_ Reiko got this one’s name.” When the cat shook his head, his ear tickled the side of Natsume’s face.

Golden eyes widened in understanding before Natsume was pulling the Book of Friends out of his bag, much to Nyanko’s chagrin.

He opened the Book, focusing on the youkai’s constantly changing face and hoping the Book would recognize who he was searching for despite the lack of a fixed image. “You who would protect me, reveal your name.” The familiar phrase tumbled from his lips before the Book opened, flipping to the correct page where it stood at attention.

He ripped the erect page from the spine neatly before gently biting the page, trapping it with his teeth, closing his eyes then exhaling.

The name Daido consumed his mind and he found himself bearing witness to one of the youkai’s memories. It was almost completely without sound, the noises cutting in and out at random intervals.

As expected, he found his grandmother’s face awaiting him. Her smile was gentle if a little sad.

Her mouth moved silently, but the way she spoke was so emphatic it was almost like he could hear her voice. _‘I’m glad I met you, Takashi.’_

Alarm bells sounded in Natsume’s head before the memory abruptly ended.

**“T̵͡ha͞ņ̴͞k yo̶͏u̵̸.̢̛͟  ,”** With that, Daido began to fade from existence and Natsume thoughtlessly reached to stop him.

“Wait!”

The youkai was nearly completely transparent when Natsume’s fingers brushed its skin.

His stomach instantly dropped, an inescapable feeling of dread filled him to the brim and the only sound he could hear was the blood rushing to his ears while the earth felt like it was sucked from under his feet. For a sickening moment Natsume wondered if this was how his story was to end. The foolish boy who chased after spirits gone on the last journey.

It felt like a short eternity before the air was knocked out of him, the crunching dead leaves a welcome sound as he landed on the forest floor.

It took him a moment to realize that he was alive and whole. His eyes distantly registered the sight of Daido lumbering away.

By the time he managed to convince his nearly gelatinous legs to keep him upright, the youkai was long gone.

“Damn.” Natsume instinctively checked for the Book of Friends, his thoughts constantly switching between lamenting over the missed opportunity to learn about his grandmother and chastising himself for his carelessness. His heart plummeted when he couldn’t find it nearby.

He walked in tight circles, shuffling his feet and kicking the leaves hoping the Book would be revealed underneath, his mind tried to recall if Daido had been holding it when the youkai had departed.

He’d turned over his third pile before he thought to ask, “Did you see where it went, Sensei?”

Natsume paused in his search when he failed to hear a reply. His head swiveled back and forth when he realized the Book wasn’t the only thing missing, “Sensei?”

His stomach twisted anxiously in his gut, panic mounting faster than it had at the thought of losing the Book.

“Sensei!” He jogged to the edge of the clearing he was in, scared to stray too far from his original spot in case his guardian went looking for him. “Nyanko-sensei!”

The only reply was his own voice echoing back from the distant trees.

He sent one last worried look over his shoulder at the clearing before he ventured into the forest. The Book could wait. He knew better than anyone what lurked in the woods. Without his guardian or the Book, Natsume was a sitting duck.

His best, and safest, course of action would be to return to the Fujiwaras and hope that Nyanko returned soon, hopefully with the Book. He passed a few spirits on his way home, none of them any bigger than a bird.

They skittered away from him when he jogged past, much to his relief.

His ears perked up at the sound of children’s voices and he hurried towards them.

When he broke out of the tree line, he discovered a group of six kids playing shadow tag in the space between where the woods began, and civilization ended. He was glad that none of them paid him any mind. Not that it would have mattered too much, since none of them appeared to be familiar faces.

He walked to the sidewalk with a more sedated pace so as not to draw attention to himself, it would look weird if someone his age was seen running out of the woods, right?

His pace from the sidewalk to the house was as close to a jog one could get without actually jogging, and he was surprised no one sent him any looks for his odd behavior.

He felt a wave of renewed energy wash through him when he spied the Fujiwaras’ roof. He wasn’t too flustered to miss how clean the nameplate was on the wall of their front lawn. He chalked it up to some service cleaning it when his brain supplied the helpful information that everyone’s plaque had looked spiffier than usual.

His sense of urgency dimmed a bit now that he was home and he slowed to an actual walk before going through the gate. When he reached the door, a tug revealed he was locked out.

“Touko-san!” he rapped his knuckles on the door, remembering that Touko had made mention of cooking a special dinner for both he and Shigeru that night. She liked to stick close to ensure nothing boiled over or burned. She’d never admit it, but Touko took great pride in her cooking skills, lighting up when she received compliments or requests for specific recipes.

The footsteps he heard approaching the door were much faster than he’d been prepared for. The sound of the lock disengaging was followed by the door sliding open a crack to reveal a dark-haired child. One he’d witnessed from the memory of the youkai that had haunted the Fujiwara residence.

“Shigeru-san?” Natsume heard himself ask with no response.

The boy scanned the front lawn nervously when he didn’t immediately see anyone at the door. “Hello?”

Natsume was frozen in place, helplessly watching a much younger version of the man he’d come to think of as a second father step back into the house and warily shut the door.

His hands tangled into his blond hair, knees giving out from under him, making him collapse against the wall and slide to the ground.

He didn’t realize his eyes were so wide until they began to sting from the dryness.

It was impossible.

There was no feasible way this was possible… and yet, here he was.

Transported back in time.

_____

It had taken Natsume longer than he’d ever admit to recover after realizing his predicament. It was only after he was able to think past the panic that he realized why he was panicking so much. In the past, he’d had to deal with his problems alone many times, even without the familiarity of home before. But now, he knew what it was like to have support, and without it he felt the loss deeply, making this current crisis incredibly challenging.

He had no idea when he’d developed such a codependency on his friends and family, both human and spirit, but it was clear to him now how much he valued their presence in times of distress. He wondered if it was a blessing, or a curse.

While Natsume was stumbling out of the Fujiwaras’ gate, he formed a loose strategy to find his way back home: Find Daido and ask him to send Natsume back home.

He didn’t know how he was going to find the spirit, especially without Nyanko’s help, but he knew he’d have to somehow manage it.

Just like before he’d moved in with the Fujiwaras.

_____

He’d only been searching the woods for an hour or two before his mind came up with the reason why none of the humans interacted with him. It was likely only his spirit was transported back. He hoped that was the case, because it would soothe the anxiety he had about the Book of Friends and Nyanko’s location.

Knowing he was essentially only his spirit made it much easier to talk to the youkai. Well, the ones willing to talk to him. Many of them ran away at the sight of him.

Even tearing a strip of fabric from his t-shirt (which was much harder than he’d first thought it would be, likely because it was part of his essence) and using it as a mask did nothing to soothe whatever fears the other youkai had.

It was late afternoon when he began to lose hope of returning to his own time before nightfall. His first thought was to go home, but when he evaluated how much energy he had left, he found he wasn’t drowsy in the slightest. It was his own mind suggesting it was close to bed time with the setting sun, his body was fully prepared to go without sleep.

He wondered if this was how most spirits felt.

“Hey! You there!”

Natsume froze at the familiar voice. One he’d heard in several youkais’ memories upon the return of their name.

When he chanced a glance back, he found Reiko standing in her school uniform, a branch resting on her shoulder.

He wasn’t sure what sort of paradox it would create if she were to talk to him, and he didn’t want to find out.

He broke out into a sprint, regretting not watching more space and sci-fi movies on the topic of time travel.

He should have known better.

Running through the forest was a bad idea for anyone, especially for someone accident-prone like him. That fact was driven home by an exposed tree root hidden in a layer of dead leaves.

Natsume discovered that even as a spirit he could still feel pain when he crashed to the forest floor, his “mask” landing softly in front of him a moment later.

He twisted around at the sound of crunching leaves and locked eyes with his grandmother.

Her eyes, nearly identical to his, grew comically wide in surprise. “What the-”

Natsume spared no time scrambling to stand up and continue fleeing, but only made it a few steps before his breath was stolen from a heavy bag slamming into his back. He doubled over into a coughing fit, his back throbbing for a time even after he recovered.

He looked up at the sound of Reiko clearing her throat to find her brandishing the tree branch she held threateningly, the wood slapping into her open palm hard enough to make Natsume fear for his life. “Are you going to try running again? Or are you going to talk to me?”

Natsume looked around nervously. His mouth opening and closing soundlessly while he mustered up the courage to speak his first words to his grandmother.

He took a breath and hoped he wouldn’t make himself disappear, “Hello?”

One of Reiko’s eyebrows raised skeptically. “A bit late for that, don’t you think?”

“I don’t… know what to say?”

“That much is obvious. How ‘bout I start?” Without waiting for Natsume to agree, she launched into a series of questions. “Who are you? Where’re you from? Why are you scaring off all the spirits?”

Natsume debated lying to his grandmother, but now that it was unlikely he was going to cease to exist by him talking to her, he wanted nothing more than to finally get to know the woman he looked so much like.

He swallowed thickly and mustered up the courage to speak under Reiko’s watchful gaze. “Natsume Takashi.” He introduced. “I was transported back in time by a youkai named Daido. I’m trying-”

“How far back?” Reiko interrupted.

“I… does that matter?”

She looked more solemn than he’d ever remembered seeing her. “It does to me.”

“Why?”

Reiko rolled her eyes. “While Natsume is a common family name, I’ll admit, there aren’t too many with these eyes. You’re related to me somehow.” She concluded, her head tilted to one side. “Are you… my son?” she guessed.

“Grandson.” Natsume corrected gently and Reiko stumbled back a step.

“ _I’m_ a _grandma_?” She seemed frozen in place by the idea. Natsume could see hundreds of questions burning in her mind. He wondered if she’d ask about who she’d marry, what life was like for her and dreaded having no answers to give.

 “Tell me, grandson,” She began quietly, “Am I a good grandma?”

It was Natsume’s turn to freeze, unsure how to answer.

Reiko nodded gravely. “I see.” There was a long, awkward pause between them before Reiko continued, “Did you… are you happy? Even with these?” She gestured to their eyes.

Natsume smiled at the fond memories that flitted through his mind about all the friends he’d made thanks to his eyes. “Yeah.”

Reiko breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.” Her smile morphed into a smirk and she slung her free arm over Natsume’s shoulder. “Alright, grandson of mine, let’s get you back home.”

_____

Having Reiko at his side was far more comforting than Natsume could have imagined, even if she refused to call him by name and only referred to him as ‘grandson’. She had a warm aura about her that he couldn’t get enough of. He wondered if it were his own feelings towards her causing that, or if she was simply that sort of person.

The youkai, while afraid of Natsume, were much more willing to talk to Reiko than him. Through them, Natsume was able to discover that Daido was an odd spirit. Drifting between time aimlessly and at his whim. Natsume wondered what sort of life the youkai might have lived.

_____

“Why don’t you use the Book of Friends to ask for help?” Natsume pondered just before the sun fully set, the moon was already visible between the tops of the trees.

Reiko waved off his question noncommittally. “Nonsense. No need to summon any more troublesome youkai into this.”

Natsume wanted to argue that the spirits in the Book, especially certain ones, were extremely helpful. But when he turned to say as much, he found Reiko with a faraway look in her eyes.

“Reiko-san?”

His grandmother turned her focus on him, a serious expression on her face. “Tell me, grandson. Did I have a daughter or a son?”

Natsume stopped walking, sure that Reiko would likely have more questions. “A daughter.”

He was proven wrong when Reiko only nodded with a smile before continuing ahead of him, following some unknown path.


	2. Chapter 2

The moon was high enough in the sky to illuminate the forest, and the number of Reiko’s yawns was growing with increasing frequency when Natsume decided to give up for the night.

“Maybe you should head home?” Natsume proposed and received a snort in response.

“Why?”

“I thought… maybe your parents might be worried about you?” Natsume admitted, the worried faces of the Fujiwara couple appearing in his mind’s eye.

Rather than laugh or explain herself further, Reiko asked in an odd voice, “Do your parents worry for you, grandson?”

It shouldn’t have hurt. He didn’t even remember his mother, and his father had been dead for much of his life, and yet, the sting of tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “No, they… they died when I was young.” He admitted quietly to mask the tightness of his throat.

Reiko seemed to have anticipated that answer, judging by the way her eyes squeezed shut and her head bowed in sorrowful acceptance.

She cleared her throat. “Who are you living with then?”

Natsume, though he still felt the familiar ache from mourning the life he could have had with his parents, smiled fondly at the couple’s name, “The Fujiwaras.”

Reiko squinted her eyes at the vague sense of familiarity she felt hearing that name but wrote it off.

“Do they treat you nicely?”

Natsume’s smile only grew and Reiko found herself smiling back at the happiness radiating from the young man in front of her. “They do.”

He launched into a few stories about the calm days in the house with the older couple. How Touko-san liked to garden and how she was an amazing cook. How she would try to hide her mistakes that were almost always delicious.

His grandmother chuckled and smiled along with him. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to mention all the wonderful moments he had with Shigeru when Reiko stilled, her hand coming up as an indication for Natsume to stop talking. She slowly swiveled her head, almost as if she were listening for something faint.

When she finally found what she was searching for, she tugged Natsume along behind her, “This way!”

They crashed through the woods, spooking the rabbits back into their burrows. Natsume was awed that his grandmother didn’t trip and was agile enough to stop him the one time he nearly fell in their pursuit.

As suddenly as she began, Reiko stopped, seeming to recoil from something. “Shit, Takashi. What made you want to tangle with this thing?”

Natsume tilted his head, forgetting to point out that Reiko was the one that had originally ‘tangled’ with the youkai. “What do you mean?”

Reiko sent him an incredulous look. “You can’t _feel_ that?”

Natsume’s brow furrowed and he tried to focus on his surroundings, like he had when he found the youkai Matoba had tried to contract into his service.

There was perhaps a faint sense of power, but nothing that he hadn’t felt before.

Reiko shook her head in quiet bemusement before tugging him along behind her again. “I figured we’d be dealing with a powerful youkai since it’s able to move through time, but this is far beyond what I could’ve imagined.”

They slowed their pace until they were only creeping through the trees, careful not to make too much noise in the event this wasn’t Daido after all.

Natsume only needed to hear its lumbering gate before he knew who was waiting just beyond the brush. When they finally reached a point where they could see it, Natsume decided that the moonlight was certainly kinder to the youkai’s features than the sun had been.

“Daido!” Natsume called, feeling Reiko’s fingers brush against his shirt in an effort to stop him.

The spirit turned, its head tilted at an odd angle, causing a piece of flesh to drip off and fall to the ground with a wet splat, **"͢N̛͜a͏̴͡t̨s̴͘um͏͜e̴̡͢?̶͢͢"͜**

The voice sent shivers down his spine, and judging from the way Reiko gasped behind him, she felt the same.

Still, Natsume pressed forward. “Daido, I need you to bring me back to my own time.”

 **"͠N͠a̶͟t̵͞s̸u̧̕m͏̢e?̵͘"̷**   The youkai lumbered in their direction, one slow step at a time.

Natsume felt Reiko at his side a moment later, her hand covering her nose and mouth. She grabbed and lifted his arm wordlessly instructing him to do the same.

“He’s got spores pouring off of his body.” She warned.

Natsume squinted, his hand shielding his face as small, black particles danced into view. The spirit’s nearly transparent body was suddenly opaque, and the horror was finally in perfect clarity.

Natsume felt his stomach lurch at the sight and he doubled over. Reiko’s comforting hand on his shoulder was the only thing keeping him from retching all over the ground in front of him.

“I guess the spores hide the youkai?” Reiko proposed, stepping in front of Natsume protectively when Daido was only a few steps away.

The youkai finally stopped its approach, much to the humans’ relief. **“N̴̛a̶̢ts͠u̸͘͜me̷,͝ ̢w̷͢ha̢͜t̸̛͜ a͠r͝e ̸͢yo̵͘͡u̕͢ ̨͞d̛ơi̧ng ̕͠įn̴̢͜ ͡͞t̛͞hi҉s ̢t̷͘į̵m̶͠e̢͡?̶͢**

Reiko tilted her head and took in a deep breath, a hand combing through her hair in a haughty gesture and the other holding her hip, revealing her face to the spirit, “I think it’s obvious that you’re the one who brought him here.”

Daido turned his gaze to Reiko before he took a step back. **“Y̴o͏̢u̸!͞͠”**

“Me?” Reiko turned to Natsume for an explanation, his sheepish smile hidden behind his hands. “I think you can uncover your face. It doesn’t seem to harm us, only make him harder to see.”

Natsume hesitantly pulled his hands away from his face before explaining the events up until then in a rush, eyes never leaving the youkai for fear that he’d run away again. Which didn’t seem likely with the way the spirit was slowly starting to puff up its chest in a show of bravado.

 **"͟Yo͏u̸'ve̴ ҉m̢ad͠e a̡ ͠fo̢o̸l̕ of ̛me̸ for f̷ive̕ t͡im͝es̛ ͠n̵o̴w! It̸'̴s͡ t͟i̢m̢e̸ for͏ ͜me̸ ͏to̢ w̵i͡n!҉"** The youkai challenged.

Reiko hummed. “And what do you get if you win?”

**"T̸h̛e͘ vic͝to͞r̨y͢ that̶ ͝h̶as̵ be͜e͞n ̵d̨en͡ięd me̸ t̨i͟m̕e an͜d ͟again!"̛**

“Very well,” Reiko nodded before continuing, “And if I win, I demand you give me your name.”

Daido spared only a moment’s hesitation before agreeing.

Natsume couldn’t believe he was witnessing what he’d only seen in memories. It was far less comical with his future on the line, however.

“Natsume, you be the judge.” Reiko suggested.

“For what?”

“We’re going to play ‘The Daruma Doll Fell Over’.”

Natsume’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. He’d never seen her attempt this game with a spirit before. He was suddenly reminded of the image of the ambling spirit’s lumbering gait and nodded.

“Go stand by the tree.” Reiko ordered before turning back to the youkai, “You know the rules, Daido?”

The spirit nodded. **"̴I'v͘e̢ pl͞ay͠ed͝ this gam͞e͜ ͡five͞ ͡t͝i̢m͠es ͏now̵.͘ ͞I ̷th͟i̛nk̢ I͝ g̴o̶t ̡i̴t ̴af͜t͜e̷r t͠he four͝ţh ͘on͢e."**

Natsume walked to a tree in the distance and shared a nod with Reiko before turning around. “The Daruma doll fell over!”

He heard two sets of footsteps behind him, one rushing in his direction and the other approaching with slow, squelching steps at a much slower rate. He didn’t bother calling out the phrase and turning around again, confident about who would be the winner.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder firmly before he was turned around to meet a puffing Reiko, her mouth open in a wide smile while she caught her breath. “I won!”

 **"T҉ha̛t's̨ n͟o͡t̷ fa͏i҉r!"** The youkai complained. Still a fair distance away from them.

“Fair or not, a deal’s a deal.”

Daido kicked the ground, pieces of his flesh detaching and sticking to the grass and making the two humans wince in disgust. **"͟Fine̸."**

Reiko had Daido sign his name, judging by how quiet he was, Natsume got the feeling that the spirit had resigned itself to this fate and didn’t actually mind signing his name into the Book.

“Well…” Reiko began, shuffling awkwardly. “I guess this is where we part ways.”

Natsume’s shoulders slumped at the thought.

Yes, he wanted to return home, but this was his only chance to meet his grandmother. It felt like they’d hardly spent any time at all together. He had so much to say and yet he was so overwhelmed he didn’t even know where to start.

Still, he did his best to sum up his feelings into something short, in case Daido decided he wanted to transfer to another time. Natsume didn’t want to test whether the Book was able to summon youkai from different time periods.

“About what you asked me earlier?” Natsume paused, “About whether you’re a good grandma? I don’t know if you ever intended for me to get the Book of Friends… but I like to think your intentions for making the Book were so your descendants wouldn’t have to suffer alone like you did.” He lifted his gaze to meet Reiko’s. “And for what it’s worth, I think you’re the best grandma.”

Reiko’s expression was unreadable and Natsume feared he’d said the wrong thing. His worries were assuaged moments later when Reiko smirked before slinging her arm around his shoulders to pull him in for a rough hug. “And you’re the best grandson I could have asked for, even if you are a little scrawny.”

Natsume pouted, ready to argue before the hug gentled and Reiko embraced him fully, giving him a firm squeeze. Her voice was muffled by his shoulder, “This is to make up for all the hugs I’ll never get to give you as a kid.”

When she sniffled, Natsume realized he could feel a small damp spot on his shoulder.

He returned her embrace with equal fierceness. Fighting back the tears at the sudden awareness that when he returned, Reiko would be dead.

And he’d never get another moment like this.

When they finally separated, their eyes were red-rimmed and glossy. And, for once, Natsume was able to bid farewell to someone he’d never see again. “Goodbye, grandma.”

She nodded, waving at him while he took a few backwards steps towards Daido. It was only when he’d turned to face the youkai, his hand nearly brushing the fading spirit’s skin, that he heard her speak.

“I’m glad I met you, Takashi.”

He opened his mouth in a silent, unfinished gasp before the world fell away from him once more. He’d somehow forgotten how awful it was to time travel, and every sickening moment brought with it a fresh wave of impending doom.

The sound of crunching leaves met him at the end of his journey along with Nyanko’s creaky voice. “Natsume!”

Golden eyes blinked slowly into focus, “Sensei?”

“Idiot! You don’t just go reaching for youkai like that! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Every other word was punctuated by a soft smack of his paw on Natsume’s head.

“Sorry, Sensei.”

Natsume slowly pulled himself up from the ground and sighed when he found the Book of Friends still open to the spot where Daido’s name had been.

Only… there was more than just a name on the next page.

Written in large, neat characters: _I left something for you in the corner of the Fujiwara’s yard._

His eyes widened, and he tore off in the direction of home after scooping the Book up, Nyanko calling after him in confusion before running to catch up.

His heart swelled at the thought of home.

_He was going home._

_____

Upon his return, he made sure to go inside to greet the Fujiwaras before he tried searching for Reiko’s gift. He’d forgotten that Touko had been cooking a special dinner until he smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen.

“I’m home!”

Touko’s voice echoed from the kitchen, the sound of her careful steps approaching with it, “Takashi?”

His questioning, “Yes?” was said as she rounded the corner and appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, giving him a quick scan to make sure he didn’t have any injuries.

When she didn’t find any, her eyes wrinkled in a wide smile, “Excellent. Shigeru should be coming home any minute,” she turned to head back inside while Natsume decided to put his search on hold, “so could you help me set the table?”

Natsume hummed agreeably and set to work putting the plates and silverware on the table before helping move some of the side dishes over.

They’d just set the last one on the table when Shigeru announced his return, “Sorry, I’m late!”

“Nonsense.” Touko rebuked lightly, “You’re just in time.”

When Shigeru turned to Natsume with a raised brow Natsume answered with a helpless smile, “We just set the last thing on the table before you came in.”

The older man smiled warmly, “Well, thank you both for dinner then.”

“Ah… no. I didn’t do anything. Touko-san made this.”

The Fujiwaras shared a look before Touko gave him a stern look, “You were a big help with dinner! You helped me with setting the table!”

Natsume shrugged, not believing for a second that he’d been of any real help with the meal and knowing the Fujiwaras were too nice to ever make him feel like he didn’t contribute to their family.

“And I’m sure after dinner, you won’t mind helping me clean up, either?” Touko mentioned with a teasing note to her voice. When Natsume nodded, finally breaking free of the shell he’d begun to crawl into again, she smiled, “See? You’re a tremendous help.”

Natsume smiled in an ‘if you say so’ sort of way that had Shigeru chuckling.

Natsume, as reserved as he was, quietly basked in the warmth the older couple gave him, ‘ _This is home.’_

_____

Natsume finished washing the dinner dishes with Touko in record time and tried to keep how antsy he was getting hidden from the couple. There was no need to make them feel like he didn’t want to be around them.

He scooped Nyanko up and headed outside under the pretense of playing with the cat. Touko gave him a confused smile but dutifully told him to be back in before it got too late.

A quick search of the yard revealed Touko’s gardening trowel was the only digging tool Natsume had at his disposal which made digging aimlessly in the four corners of the yard that much more difficult.

He was digging the fifth hole when he sat up with a sore back and sent Nyanko a dirty look. “You could always help, you know?”

“I could.” Nyanko admitted, unmoving from his spot.

Natsume rolled his eyes and returned to digging, muttering about useless cats that needed to go on a diet until he felt a puff of air at the back of his neck.

When he looked up, he was met with a large, white muzzle leading to golden eyes.

Madara gently pushed Natsume back before gouging the earth with his claws and disturbing more dirt than Natsume had in the thirty minutes he’d been outside.

Nothing.

They went to a previous corner Natsume had dug at after he convinced the spirit to fill the hole back in.

When Madara’s claws raked through the dirt again, the dull sound of what could have been a cereal box being shaken was heard over the hissing of dirt and sand.

Natsume was quick to place his hand against the spirit’s leg “Wait! I think you found it!” In a puff of smoke, Madara became Nyanko once more.

Amidst the loose dirt Madara had overturned, was a worn, wooden box.

Shakily, Natsume pulled it free and opened the lid to reveal a few numbered composition notebooks.

He carefully set the books back inside and filled in the remaining holes he’d made. Nyanko helped, if only to speed up the unveiling of what Reiko had left her grandson.

When he was finished, he returned to his room, box tucked safely under his arm. He didn’t realize how tense he was until he shut the door to his room behind him and Nyanko.

He settled on the cushion at his desk and opened the box to pull out the notebook labelled ‘One’ to the first page.

Inside, he found Reiko’s handwriting.

_Takashi,_

_I’m not sure how to start this, but I’ll be damned before my grandson doesn’t get to know his grandma. So, here goes:_

_It’s been a few days since I sent you home and my mind is still plagued with the many questions I had for you but didn’t have the courage to ask._

_It’s for the best I suppose. I don’t even know whose child I’m going to bear and yet I’ve looked at every man I’ve passed since you left and can’t help but wonder if it’s him. It’s agony!_

_I don’t have the best track record with books, but your grandma will do her best with this one. I don’t know how often I’ll write, but I will try to write often._

_Perhaps this will give us both closure? I must admit, though I only knew you for a short time, you are very-_

The next word was messy and looked like it had been erased, changed, erased, and rewritten several times before settling on a word.

_-precious to me._

_I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE HOW HARD THAT WAS TO WRITE!_

_I also hope no one finds these while I’m still alive. I don’t think I could stand the embarrassment._

_I don’t know what I’ll write in this thing, but surely it might offer you more insight into your grandma’s life?_

_I realize this is a very one-sided exchange and question the fairness of it. I guess you’ll never know if I decide not to leave these for you._

_I’ve made sure to leave the page beside Daido’s name blank in case I need to leave instructions to find this._

_You said you were living with the Fujiwaras? The only ones I know of have a kid named Shigeru. Is he the one taking care of you now? I hope he’s changed from who he is now, for your sake._

_I hope it’s the same Fujiwaras because that is the best place I can think of to hide this book where no one else will ever have the chance to read it. I’ll scope out the yard tomorrow for the best hiding spot._

_This is so odd._

_I’ve never put much thought into the future and now I find myself constantly wondering what it will bring._

_If I do decide to follow through and give this to you, I leave my words in your care._

_-Reiko_

“I guess she didn’t think she’d be writing more than one.” Nyanko mumbled before he registered the sound of Natsume’s sniffles.

The spirit’s ears flattened to his head, watching Natsume’s hunched over form sobbing into his desk from the corner of his eye. The cat shuffled closer until his side was pressed against Natsume’s arm, hoping to bring some modicum of comfort.

He wondered if Natsume would be able to read through all of Reiko’s words. He was sure the story of how he and Natsume’s grandmother had met was in there and was curious to see what she thought of their meeting.

Golden eyes looked back at Natsume. Nyanko could wait until Natsume read it himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Tumblr for more "Letters From Grandma"!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/letters-from-grandma
> 
> Feel more than free to follow if you'd like to read more of Natsume Reiko's story!  
> ....that I'm trying to make up without tangling with actual canon xD

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there ya go! I hope it was alright! I know it got pretty angsty but I tried to make it as painless as possible!
> 
> I'm tossing the idea of making a short collection involving Reiko's journal entries, but I think it would be best to make it a Tumblr blog (Letters From Grandma or something)? That way I can post sporadically or as often as I want xD


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